Window-cleaner.



M. PL OTNiTZKY.

WINDOW CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1916.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

MAX PLOTNITZKY, OF'CI-IICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WINDOW-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

Application filed April 22, 1916. Serial No. 92,812.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MAX PLOTNITZKY, a

' subiect of the Czar of Russia, and having legally declared myintention of becoming a citizen of the United States, residing atChicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in VVindow-Cleaners, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to cleaners for Win dows of various types,especially the window in front of the motormans position in an electriccar, or the cab window'of a locomotive or the wind shield of a motorvehicle. It is well known that accidents frequently occuras a result ofrain, snow or-other obstruction gathering on the outside of the windowsthrough which the operator of the car or other vehicle must look todetermine whether or not the way ahead is clear.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby the front of thewindow may be instantly cleaned with very slight effort upon the part ofthe motorman or driver who is behind the window.

I obtain my object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of a window equipped withapparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on theline 22, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan section on the line 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 4is a vertical section on the line 4-4, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an end view ofthe sectors which hold the squeegees in place.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the form selected to illustrate the invention, the glass pane 1 ismounted in a window frame 2, the frame being held in the casing 3 in anysuitable manner. These parts are here shown in conventional form and mayassume various shapes, sizes and construction according to the situationin which the window is used. Extending across the window is a shaft 5supported at one end in a journal 6 which in the present case is yokeshaped and is held in place by a nut 7 screwing on to the reducedthreaded end of the shaft as shown in detail in Fig. 3. An endless cable8 is attached at one end to the journal 6 and thence passes upward overan upper pulley .9, thence downward and around a sheave 10, thenceupward to the bottom of the journal, where it is fasfrom the Squeegeesany snow,

able means, manual or mechanical. In the present instance, I have shownthe sheave as rotated by a hand lever 12 which is fastened to the drumshaft 13. Said shaft is journaled on the window casing in any suitablemanner and by preference the sheave and cable are inclosed in a housin14.

Rigidly attached to each end 0 shaft 5 is a spur pinio'n 16 whichtravels in a toothed rack 17 arranged vertically within the housing 14and within the housing 18 at the opposite side of the window. Housing 18is similar to housing 14, except that thesheave containing portion atthe lower end is absent. The teeth of the rack 17 face toward thewindow. Rigidly fastened to the shaft 5 is a drum 20. A number of vanesor squeegees 21, preferably of rubber, are fastened to the drum in anysuitable manner. In the preferred construction shown they are boltedbetween the flanges 22 of the sectors 23 which encircle the drum and areshown separately in Fig. 5. By bolting the flanges together thesqueegeesare firmly held in place and the sectors tightly grip the drumas to rotate therewith.

In the preferredconstruction I-provide a carriage for causing the drumto travel parallel to and at the proper distance from the window pane.According to 'the design selected to illustrate the invention, thiscarriage has two sleeves 25 fitting loosely over shaft 5 and abuttingthe ends of drum .20. Two arms 26 extend obliquely in oppositedirections toward the window frame and at their ends carry antifrictionrollers 27. This carriage also serves the purpose-of holding the pinions16 in mesh with the racks 17 although thisfunction is also served by theflanges 29 of the housings 14 and 18, which flanges border the verticalslot 30 through which the-shaft enters into said housings.

Extending outward from each of the sleeves 25, are two arms 33 whichsupport a cross bar 34. This cross bar is in position to be struck bythe Squeegees as the latter pass, and the result is that the bar scrapesdust,mudor moisture which may have collected upon them. Thus thesqueegees are automatically kept clean.

In operation, as soon as any deposit collects upon the front of thewindow, the operator grasps the hand lever 12 and turns the sheave 10 inone direction or the other,

tened. The sheave 10 is rotated by any suitdepending upon whichdirection he wishes the cleaning elements to travel. Normally, theoperator will leave the shaft 5 and parts carried therebyeither at thetop or bottom of the window so as not to obstruct the view. If the partsare at the bottom of the window, he rotates the drum in the direction toraise said shaft. Let it be assumed that the shaft is at the bottom ofthe windew and the operator wishes to clean the window: He rotates thelever in a direction to raise the journal 7. This applies powerpositively to one end of the shaft to raise it; the shaft in rising,however, is forced to rotate by reason of the fact that the pinion is inmesh with the rack 17. But the rotation of the shaft causes the pinionon the opposite end to rotate at the same speed and hence both ends ofthe shaft must rise at the same rate, notwithstanding the fact that thepowerto raise the shaft isapplied at one end only. As the shaft rotatesit causes the squeegees 21 to brush the outside surface of the glass. Asthe rack 17 and the window glass 1 are on opposite sides of the shaft,it follows that the squeegees will rotate in the same direction in whichthey are traveling across the pane. The edges of the Squeegees as theycontact the pane will travel faster than the shaft travels across thepane and consequently any given point of the pane will be scraped bymore than one of the Squeegees, thus rendering it certain that thesurface of the glass will be well cleaned. The carriages 25, 26,traveling as they do along the front of the window pane, will hold thedrum at the proper distance from the pane to get the best results; italso holds the cleaning bar St in position and permits it to forciblyscrape the mud, snow or moisture from the Squeegees.

It will thus be seen that the cleaner may be caused to travel in eitherdirection, up or down, and will always cause the vanes or Squeegees totravel faster than the main shaft and in the same direction as the mainshaft at the time when the parts are acting upon the pane. The partswill also automatically be kept clean and, hence, will not bring backto'the window any of the material that has once been removed. from it.Another point to be noted in my construction is that the squeegees aremounted so close to the pane that they must bend in order to pass thepane, consequently, they afford some resistance to the rotation of theshaft. This resistance is created at a point which is farther from thecenter of the shaft than is the rack 17, and as the shaft cannot descendunless it rotates it will be seen that the squeegees act efficiently tohold the device in any position in which it may be left.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is: i

1. A window cleaner having stationary vertical racks arranged at eachside of the window, a shaft extending from one rack to the other infront of the window, pinions fastened to the end of said shaft, andcooperating with the racks, means for positively raising and positivelylowering said shaft, and resilient vanes projecting radially from saidshaft and fixed thereon for cleaning the Window, the racks beingstationary and having their teeth pointing inward toward the windowwhereby the bodily movement of the shaft upward or downward causes theshaft to rotate and causes the vanes to scrape the window in the samedirection as the bodily movement of the shaft, and a vane-cleaning bartraveling with said shaft and located parallel thereto close enough tobe engaged by the vanes as the vanes rotate past it.

2. A- window cleaner having stationary vertical racks arranged at eachside of the window, a shaft extending from one rack to the other infront of the window, pinions fastened to the end of 'said shaft, andcooperating with the racks, means for positively raising and positivelylowering said shaft, and resilient vanes projecting radially from saidshaft for cleaning the window, the racks being'stationaryand havingtheir teeth pointing inward toward the window whereby the bodilymovement of the shaft upward or downward causes the shaft to rotate andcauses the vanes to scrape the window in the same direction as thebodily movement of the shaft, a vane-cleaning bar traveling with saidshaft and located parallel thereto close enough to be engaged by thevanes as the vanes rotate past it, and a carriage traveling uponthefront of the window and supporting said bar to thereby prevent itfrom being rotated by the vanes.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

' MAX PLOTNITZKY.

